A Hard Day's Life
by blackbirdxsinging
Summary: Max has been living on luck all his life... What happens when that luck runs out?
1. You Can Drive My Car

I have been told that my previous Max's have been out of character, some of the obviously and others not so obviously

**I have been told that my previous Max's have been out of character, some of the obviously and others not so obviously. Anyways, I am going to write this anyways because I'm trying to write him IN character, so… if he isn't, just point it out and give me some bloody pointers, because I don't know where I am going and how I am going to get there. **

**Kay?**

"_Listen! Listen!" Gerard says, holding his tiny radio. "Drive my car… Man, I love this song."_

"_Well turn it up for us, will you Gerry?" John says back laughing a bit._

"_Yeah, yeah."_

"_I think I know this song..." Andy says, trying to hear over the jeep flying over bumps. _

_We're all sitting in the jeep, bobbing our heads to the fuzz that comes out of Gerard's radio. It's barely music. Every other note is drowned in white noise._

"_Max, you got anymore of those cigarettes?"_

_I shrug. "I'm on my last box, man."_

"_What are you doing, waiting for Christmas? Pass 'em around!" _

_I hesitate slightly as the jeep jumps in the air and comes back on the ground with a thump. _

"_What was that?" John says, alert, looking at the driver._

"_Pothole." He says back, annoyed at us already for the radio._

"_Well pass the cigarettes, then, Max." Andy says, reaching for his lighter._

_I look around and then reach into my pocket. A box of cigarettes comes out on my hand, and I open the lid and shake some out._

"_Ah, sticks of utter glory." Gerard jokes, taking one and Andy's lighter._

_There was another large bump, and Andy's cigarette falls to the bottom of the jeep._

_We're all laughing, our own cigarettes hanging out of the corner of our mouths, when the crash comes._

_We didn't even know what it was. It was just… a crash. It came splitting through the roof, making a sickening splintering sound, like Popsicle sticks and tinfoil. _

_Then we weren't moving in the jeep anymore. Gerard's radio wasn't playing. The blast was so loud, we could hear nothing. _

_I'm lying on the ground, my legs killing me. I scream but I can't hear myself. I see John; he's running up to me, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me away from the jeep._

_My leg has another stinging pain, and I scream again. I feel the sound of ripping flesh._

"_Sorry, man." John whispers. For some reason, I can hear his voice, but nothing else._

_He lays me down again, and hands me a gun. He looks at me. "Shoot the others. Don't shoot us. And don't get shot." He nods for a second, and then says, "Thanks for the cigarette, man." And then runs the other way. _

_And then, suddenly, I'm not lying on the ground anymore. I'm flying above me, watching myself breathe on the battle field, blood all around me, and the bottom of my leg underneath a jeep._

I wake up, panting. My face is hot. I look around me. I see my dresser, and my clothes scattered on the floor. I close my eyes when I realize it was just a dream, but I don't go back to sleep.

I push the blankets off and step on the cold floor. My face is still burning, so I walk into the bathroom and splash cold water on my face. I look in the mirror and lightly touch my reflection.

I close my eyes and breathe. I sigh loudly and open my eyes again. 

I open the cupboard under the sink and wrap my hands around the bottle of liquor that is hidden. I undo the top quickly and drink a mouthful down.

My eyes shut again and I listen to the drink slither down my throat. I look at the mirror and see my face covered in sleep and fear. I drink more. 

I'm looking in the mirror. The liquor is finally starting to kick in. The corners of my vision get fuzzy, and everything in the room seems sharper. I reach out to touch my reflection again, and the mirror breaks when I touch it.

I pull my hand back, and then look at the mirror, horrified. I look at my hand and see blood.

_Did the mirror really break? Or is this just a hallucination?_

The sink is rattling under the cupboard. The bottle I was drinking from drops and shatters on the ground.

I'm getting more and more scared... I don't know what to do.

The light bulb pulls itself out of its socket and flies into the wall, leaving me in the dark.

In the dark…

**So yeah, I know it's short, and the plot is weak. HOWEVER, I am trying to get his character **_**just**_** right, so if you could comment on that, please. I'm good at twisting and turning plots around, so hopefully I will get somewhere by the end of this… So…**

**What did you think? Is he in character enough for you? :)**


	2. Don't Ever Wanna Lose You

Lucy

**Lucy **

I push open the door to my brother's apartment. I walk through the garbage on the floor and knock on his bedroom door.

"Max, are you in there?" I call, trying to open the door. It's locked. "Max, let me in, it's Lucy."

There is no answer. I bang louder on the door. "Max!"

I decide to look around the rest of his apartment for him just in case he was already awake. I'm carrying a bag under my arm, something that he wanted me to bring from home. I dropped it by the kitchen door frame and peered around the bead curtain, hoping to see him sitting at the table. But he wasn't there.

"Max, seriously, where are you?"

I walked over to Jude's old room and looked at the bed, which was neatly made. I sighed and walked over to the bed, looking out on the roof where Prudence once sat and sulked.

I opened the window a bit, letting in a cool breeze. I smiled a bit, and then tried to see Sadie's old room from the one I was standing in.

Wasn't that Max's room now? I hadn't been here in so long, it was hard to tell. The curtains were drawn anyways, so I couldn't see inside.

I walked over to Max's door again. "Max!"

Jude finally walks in. "Sorry I'm late, Lucy." He says, gasping for breath. "The stairs." He points back to the open door where I see the stairs.

"Yeah, I know. It's alright." I say, smiling.

"Where's Max?" He says after a second of silence. "Is he home?"

"I think so. I called him last night before bed to make sure he was going to be here. He said that the bag was important, or something."

"It doesn't look like anyone has been here in a long time." He said, looking in his old room. "Look at that. Me old bed. Me old room." He smiles and I smile back.

I kiss him lightly. Then I walk back to Max's room. I knock on the door.

"Max, come on, open up. It's us."

There was silence.

Jude walked over. "How long have you been here?" He asked, obviously worried for his best friend.

"About 10 minutes."

Jude knocked on the door. "Max, come on. Open up. You don't want us to break down the door, do you?" He laughs a bit, and then stops when he hears no answer.

"Try and open the door, Jude." I asked, my face getting hotter. I was getting worried.

He pushed on the door. He turned the handle left and right, but it wouldn't budge. Finally, he pushed on the door with his shoulder and the door burst open.

"Max?" I call out to his room, which is dark considering the sun is shining.

We walk through his room and see him lying on the bathroom floor.

"Max??" I yell, looking at him on the ground. My eyes move from the blood on his fingers, to the broken mirror, the broken light bulb…

I run over quickly, falling to my knees. "Max!"

Jude is over with me too. "Max?" He's saying. "Max, can you hear us?"

"Max!" I'm shaking his shoulder. Tears are springing in my eyes. There's glass on the floor and I can feel it digging in my legs. But I'm so scared I don't notice. "Call an ambulance!" I yell suddenly, picking up his head and holding it in my arms.

Jude runs out of the room and picks up the phone.

I kiss his forehead. "Max…" I see pieces of glass surrounding the label of a liquor company, and I close my eyes very tight.

I grip his blonde hair in my fingers. "Max, wake up, wake up…" I look over at Jude, who is staring at the phone. "Call someone! Why aren't you calling someone??"

"The phone is dead." He says, holding the phone up to his face.

Tears spring to my eyes and I shut them tight again.

_Nothing is real…_

**Jude**

I watch Lucy as she walks back and forth across the room. It isn't a very large room, so it doesn't take long for her to walk past me both ways. Her flowered dress rubs against my knee every time she rushes past, sometimes letting out a little sob, or chewing on her fingers.

I watch her feet, moving quickly across the room.

"I can't believe that…" She cuts herself off and continues pacing. "I hope that…" She wipes her eyes and sobs a bit.

I try to meet her eye, but I can't look up.

I wonder what was going on through Max's head. I kind of wanted to know what he was thinking, what he was feeling. I wanted to feel that. If that wasn't too weird.

I remembered when I first met Max, him dropping his schoolbooks everywhere. And how much Lucy loved him, running up to his car and wrapping her arms around his neck.

He was such a great guy.

_Is a great guy, _I correct myself. _Is._

"I can't believe it…" Lucy is mumbling, chewing on her fingers in worry, walking faster.

I take out a box of cigarettes from my pocket and shake one out the top when a nurse walks in.

I slide it in the side of my mouth when she says, "This is a non-smoking room."

And then I get a sudden wave of relief.

If Max wasn't okay, she would have let me have the smoke.

I pull the cigarette out of my mouth.

"There is a smoking area outside if you wish to…"

"Just tell us if he is going to be okay." Lucy demands in a shaky, but strong voice.

She glares at me, and then looks softly at Lucy.

"We think we know what the problem is, but we need you to answer some questions."

Lucy nods. "Is he okay?" We both ask.

"We think he is going to be fine."

We both let out a sigh of relief. I close my eyes and my heart slows down a bit. Max was fine.

"But I still need you to answer these questions, okay?" She says. I notice her hair is tied back in a knot made of her own hair, tied together with a pencil. She pulls a clipboard from the desk, and reached for the pencil in her hair.

Once she takes the pencil out, her red hair sweeps over her shoulders. It kind of reminded me of Lucy's hair, when she used to wear it down. Now that she was getting more and more into her job, her hair was tied back most of the time.

"Has Max ever done drugs, such as cocaine, marijuana…" Lucy closes her eyes, in almost sheer disappointment.

"Yeah." She says, deadpan. "He has."

"Does he have a drinking problem?"

Lucy opens her eyes, and we both snap our attention to her.

"A problem?" Lucy repeats.

"Yes." The nurse continues, switching her gaze from me and then back to Lucy. "Do you find he can't stop drinking, or is always looking for a drink? Alcohol?"

Lucy scrunched up her face. "No."

I closed my eyes and spoke. "Max drinks."

They both turn and look at me. I continue, feeling a little awkward.

"_What?_" Lucy asks, bewildered and disappointed… again.

"He drinks when we go out, when we golf, when we're just hanging with the other lads."

She scribbles something down, and I almost wish I could take the words I spoke away.

"Is Max depressed?" She asks, looking up.

"No." Lucy says right away, like she couldn't believe what she was being told.

She looks over at me. "Do _you_ think he is depressed?"

Lucy scoffs. "Jude and I live together. We love each other, and we both love Max. We're going to have the same answers."

I realize that Lucy is getting in a fight with the nurse. I don't know why, maybe from the stress over Max? Probably the stubbornness she was born with.

She looks over at me. "I thought that maybe his voice is being silenced. I would just like to hear both sides of the story."

Lucy looks at the nurse, and then back at me.

"Is Max depressed, Jude?" The nurse asks. I wonder how she knows my name, and then I remember I had to sign in to get into the hospital.

I look at Lucy.

"Well…" Lucy's face gets a concerned look on her face, like she was heart-broken to not have known her big brother was depressed. "He has been different since the war in Vietnam."

"Vietnam?" The nurse repeats, astonished. "He's a veteran?"

We both look at her. "Yeah." Lucy says. "It says that in his records. Didn't you look at his records?"

The nurse is shifting around. "Well, it's not really my job to be looking at the records; Doctor Starkey takes care of that. I'm just here to ask some questions and then bring them back to him."

"Well go look at the records." Lucy snaps, quite bitterly. "Find the answers there."

The nurse stutters a bit. "I kind of thought that it would be better to talk to you first, just in case there was an error, or something that had changed recently and not yet been recorded."

"When can I see him?" Lucy asks, staring at her with a hard, worried, scared glare.

The nurse flips her paper. "Dr. Starkey is seeing him now. I think we know what's wrong with him, now. It won't be long."

"What's wrong with him?" Lucy asks.

"How long?" I ask quickly after her.

"Nightmares and hallucinations from the war." She says like it's obvious. And we think about it, and we realize it _is_ kind of obvious. "I'll ask Dr. Starkey when he will be finished. Excuse me."

She walks out, and Lucy collapses on the chair next to mine.

We sit there, listening to each other breathe.

"That's good." I say finally. "They know what's wrong with him. They're going to make him better."

She doesn't say anything back.

"It's good that they have everyone making an effort, don't you think?"

Nothing.

I lean back in my chair. I feel like a smoke, but I keep it in my pocket.

"I saw you took a liking to that nurse." She said finally, shortly and sharply.

"What?" I say, laughing a bit.

"Her long red hair. I saw you watching her."

So that's what the snappiness was about. It wasn't stress... or stubbornness… it was jealousy.

I smile. "It reminded me of your long hair, when you used to wear it down, in front of your eyes." I pull a strand of hair from the front of her face and tuck it behind her ear.

"Oh, pull the other one." She says, and by the tone of her voice, I know we aren't going to fight. And I'm glad.

**Lucy**

We walk quietly into his room. I almost run over to sit on his bed and hold his hand, but I contain myself.

My heart swells when I see cuts on his fingers. I walk fast over to the corner of his bed.

His eyes open, and I can tell that he is trying really hard to keep them that way.

"Hey Luce." He says, his voice barely a whisper.

Tears come to my eyes.

"Hey Max." I say, so happy that he's alive.

He breathes in the hospital air. "I must have looked pretty goddamned ridiculous on the bathroom floor, like that." He says a little louder, clearing his throat.

I breathe in sharply. "Please don't talk about it Max."

He nods. "I knew you would say that." He says, his voice almost returning to normal, and then sits up a bit. "It's funny, kind of… You're my baby sister and you always end up taking care of me."

My heart swells and jumps up in my throat. "I love you Max." My breathing is uneven. "I was so scared that I was going to lose you. I walked in… and you were on the floor for God knows how long and…" I cut myself off, trying not to remember. "You make me so scared, Max. I never want to lose you."

He smiles faintly, and then looks around. "Where's Jude at?"

"The nurse only wanted one of us coming in at a time." I say back, looking at the ground. "Do you want to see him?"

He nodded. "Come back after him." He said as I stood up.

"I didn't need you to ask me that." I smile, even though nothing is funny, and then walk out.


	3. I Will

**Jude**

I walk into his little hospital room. I hadn't been in one of these for a long time. I only went to see Molly one time, a long time ago when her appendix burst, and her room was decorated with flowers and balloons… The only thing in Max's room was… well… Max.

I walk over and pull up a chair to Max's bed.

I reach in my pocket.

"What's that?" Max asks, trying to position himself to look in my pocket.

I pull the box out of my pocket and shake it a bit.

He smiles and leans back.

I take a cigarette out of the little cardboard box and stick it in Max's mouth. He leans forward and I light it. I stick my own in my mouth and light it.

I inhale the smoke and let it fill me up.

"I can't remember the last time I had one of these." Max says, relaxed, his eyes closed.

I lean back in my chair. "When was the last time you had one?" I ask, blowing out smoke to the ceiling.

"I don't know… a month ago?"

I sit up suddenly. "What?"

"A month ago."

I extinguish mine. "If you were trying to quit mate, you should have told me. I wouldn't have given you one."

Max laughs a tiny bit. "I'm not trying to quit."

"I'm sorry, could you explain this?" I say after a few seconds of sputtering.

"Cigarettes are too expensive, man. I've been smoking all my life, and now I can barely pay the rent."

I would have offered to help. I know I would have. But me and Lucy were having money troubles of our own. And we could barely afford cigarettes either.

"Oh." Is all I can manage to say.

**Max**

Suddenly, the door opens and a man in a white coat walks in.

He coughs immediately. "Are you smoking?" He asks, looking up at the ceiling.

I put my cigarette in the cup beside me. "We were." I say, turning my head around to see the doctor standing there.

I know him.

I _know_ him.

I just can't remember where.

"_Shoot the others. Don't shoot us. And don't get shot."_

I feel cold. I can feel the colour draining from my face.

But that was just a dream! I didn't really know him.

"Maxwell, are you okay?" He asks, the same voice I heard in my dream. "Max."

"You okay mate?" Jude asks, looking at me.

"You left!!" I scream at John… or whatever his name is. It couldn't be the same in real life, could it?

"Pardon me, sir?" He asks, walking over to my bed.

I lower my voice down to a hiss. "Don't you act like you don't know. We were supposed to be friends!!" I am yelling now. "We were supposed to be friends!!"

"I don't understand." He says. I _swear _that its him! It has to be!

I stand up, on my bed. "You left me in the middle of a field, surrounded by my dead friends, with half of my body lying under a truck!!"

He scrunches up his face. There are other people running in now.

"With a gun!!" I scream. "You left me with a gun!!" I jump from my bed and walk over to him. "You think that's funny?? Huh? I could have _died_ out there." I take my two arms and shove him with such force, he crashes against the wall. "You left me…" I walk over with gritted teeth. "With a gun!!" I punch him with all the power I can manage. "In the middle of a field…" I punch him again. "With a fucking gun!!"

I feel Jude's arms on my shoulders. "Max, Max!!" He's yelling, pulling me away.

"Let go!!" I yell. "This is between me and him!!" I try and run at him again, but Jude's arms are very strong and they pull me back.

Lucy walks in. "What the hell is going on?!" She shrieks, and I stop trying to run for the bloody doctor in the corner. "Max, what are you doing??"

I am breathing heavy out of my nose. I feel my face covered with anger.

Jude lets go of my arms and I collapse on the ground. I bring my knees up to my chest and bury my face in my legs. I can't stop the tears from rushing to my eyes, but I try.

_This is never going to end._ I realize. _They can't fix this._

Lucy rushes over and I feel her wrap her arms around me. "Oh, Max." She whispers. She kisses my hair and brushes it out of my eyes. "Max…"

I feel like I am dead.

I feel like I should be dead.

Like I should be lying under a jeep in Vietnam.

It's almost like, I can't control myself anymore. It's not me. It's another person, working inside of me, working against me. Messing with my head… Painting pictures there that never really happened.

I breathe in the air and I can hear Jude's voice trying to tell the doctor politely to leave, apologizing over and over again for my mistake.

"I'm sorry, he's just a little…"

"Max, I love you so much." Lucy whispers.

**Lucy**

Max looks up at me, his eyes swollen and face covered with red splotches. He sniffs his nose. When he speaks, his voice is coated with sadness. "I'm never going to leave the hospital, am I Lucy?" H e whispers.

I don't say anything. I close my eyes and kiss his hair.

"Don't forget about me." He chokes. "If I stay here all my life. I'm going to die here, aren't I? Don't leave me. Are you going to leave me?"

He's talking on, worried and confused. I don't know what to say. I wrap my arms around him tighter. _"Who knows how long I've loved you, you know I love you still, will I wait a lonely lifetime, If you want me to, I will."_

The hospital visit is over now, Jude's driving his car along the road and not talking, not looking at me.

I stare out the window. I try not to think about Max.

I feel Jude's hand on my knee. I look at his hand, and then look out the window again.

_  
Who knows how long I've loved you  
You know I love you still  
Will I wait a lonely lifetime  
If you want me to, I will_

For if I ever saw you  
I didn't catch your name  
But it never really mattered  
I will always feel the same

Love you forever and forever  
Love you with all my heart  
Love you whenever we're together  
Love you when we're apart

And when at last I find you  
Your song will fill the air  
Sing it loud so I can hear you  
Make it easy to be near you  
For the things you do endear you to me  
Oh, you know I will  
I will


End file.
